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On Monday 19th September, after a stressful day of waiting for the 1st attempt by baliffs to enter Dale Farm travellers site – which certainly would have been repelled – residents and their supporters could relax for a couple of days thanks to a rare positive intervention on the part of the travellers from a high court judge… Read more in Dale Farm Lives On ! a report by Bristol No Borders.

The latest news is that the Dale Farm case is back in the courts on Friday 23 Sept, see below for the call-out for ongoing support.

Dale Farm eviction postponed (but not cancelled)….

CALL OUT!

Although Dale Farm residents won an injunction in the High Court, this only postpones the eviction until Friday. At 11.30am the court will consider the technical legality of the notices which the council issued. Depending on the outcome of this hearing, the eviction may be reactivated immediately on Friday afternoon.

We’re here in solidarity with the residents for as long as they want us to support them. The residents have made it clear to us that, should the eviction be reinstated, they want our strong and continued support to resist it.

This means we need to be prepared to show a very strong presence on Friday should the hearing permit the council to restart eviction proceedings. Supporters will need to be on alert and ready to come down to the site immediately on Friday, given a negative outcome.

Come to the High Court on the Strand to show your solidarity with the Dale Farm residents at 11.30 on Friday or come to the site.

Solidarity is needed at Dale Farm, Essex, with ongoing activities against the upcoming forced eviction of 90 families.

Basildon Council has said the eviction is planned to take place week beginning 19th September 2011, when electricity supplies will also be cut.

Dale Farm residents are calling on supporters to come and help them stop the eviction. They are also calling for legal observers and human rights monitors to come down to act as witnesses. Dale Farm is only a half hour by train from London Liverpool Street Station. http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/contact

The council has threatened to close roads around Dale Farm in advance of the eviction, so it is recommended that people come as many days before the eviction as possible. Also, there is plenty of work needed to prepare in advance. Sleeping space in homes are available, but please bring a tent if you can as bed space limited to those in need. People are welcome at Dale Farm any time. See http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/activity for details.

The No Border camp set-up began a week before the opening, with lots of preparation work like digging trenches for water supply, and building infrastructure.

One of the aims of the camp was raising the issue of the border locally, and supporting and extending local solidarity work.

Film screenings and discussions took place in local villages in the run up to the camp, where there were really interesting conversations with local people on the frontline of the border regime, who told stories of meeting people crossing the border in search of safety and security.

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Detention Centre in Lyubimetz

Other people discussed government and media propaganda on the new detention and reception centres, and were keen to see what they were like in reality.

The Camp was visited by lots of people from nearby Siva Reka and Svilengrad, including at a dinner for the local community and at the party at the end of the camp, and good relations were built up in the local area.

At the border...

Throughout the week, workshops and discussions took place including on the situation in Greece, the Welcome to Europe project, privilege and racism, People of Colour self-organisation and empowerment, sharing experiences of supporting people who are migrating, No Border camps – experiences and expectations, Theatre of the Oppressed, and loads more…

Siva Reka, site of the No Border Bulgaria camp, is a small village in the border region close to the border with Greece and Turkey. It is a region without much work which seems to have resulted in many people moving away to work (to other cities and countries). And with a lot of EU money invested in ‘security’ – jobs with the border authorities are one of the few opportunities. Many people have relatives and friends who work in these jobs.

The region has been affected by the border in various ways at different times. During the Balkan Wars, population exchange programmes took place, while during the Cold War period the Bulgarian-Turkish border was one of the most heavily fortified in Europe. Today, the region is one of both inward and outward migration.

The border is now being fortified, as Bulgaria tries to join the Schengen Agreement area – in which EU states have reduced border controls within the EU (for EU nationals), and at the same time a strengthened external border, sometimes described as ‘Fortress Europe’.

Detention Centre in Lyubimetz

In Lyubimetz, 20km from the No Border camp, a new 350 capacity detention centre has been built, funded with 80% European funding, and in Pastrogor, a few more km away, a 350 capacity fast-track ‘transit centre’ is about to open. Other centres have opened in Sofia, Busmantzi and Banya. The border itself is being fortified, with increased controls, extending the quantity and quality of border surveillance and monitoring equipment, new migrant and visa legislation, as well as other measures. Bulgaria has spent 160 million euros during the last three years for “strengthening its borders”, 80% financed by the European Union. The EU is increasing its allocation of funds for the implementation of border management to Bulgaria in 2012 through the External Borders Fund. More info on Bulgaria and Schengen at http://noborderbulgaria.org/en/node/33